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What can you make with a single sheet of plywood? Lots of things: a Blue Crab boat, a mini staircase, an 18′ canoe, the list goes on. One of our favorites appeared in MAKE Volume 19: the cozy Rok-Bak chair. Author Larry Cotton asked himself, “Can a chair be comfortable, look good, recline, disassemble for compactness and portability, and still be made from just a single sheet of plywood?” Why yes it can. Projects Editor Keith Hammond grabbed a refreshing beverage and gave the chair a test run in the photo above. After all, it is his job.

Larry shows you how to build the chair, complete with footrest and headrest, how to upholster it if you please, and how to convert it to rock back (so naturally you could skip this and have an upright chair). The full how-to is available for you on Make: Projects, and it’s the perfect summer build.

I’m a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

I was an editor for the first 40 volumes of MAKE. The maker movement provides me with endless inspiration, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. Covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made.